Cayenne pepper

The garlicky butter in this dish is almost as delicious as the escargots themselves, and what better use for crusty bread than sopping up this delicious “snail butter.”
But the main event are the escargots’ tender texture and clean, woodsy flavor.
When I was an apprentice back in the mid-sixties, preparing FRESH snails was a most hated assignment, taking hours to remove the snails from the shells and then cleaning and cooking them, then cleaning and sterilizing the shells. I don’t want to go into the less than pretty details, but it was not a pleasant task and as a young kid of 14 years old I thought I would never in my life eat something as shocking as snails.
Boy, was I wrong 🙂
Nowadays snails are among my favorite appetizers in the World and I order them whenever I see them on a menu, which, sadly, becomes rarer every year. 😦
Luckily, I found that canned snails work just as well and turn this appetizer into one that can be whipped up quickly, economical, anytime. I usually buy a case online which lasts me for about a year.
Traditionally, Escargots à la Bourguignonne are served 6 ea or 12 ea in their shells on a special metal or porcelain dish, or, if these are not available, on a heat-proof dish covered with sea salt into which indentions the size of the shells have been pressed to avoid the shells to move or topple over and spill their butter. I would not shy off to buy these dishes for my home, plus the special tweezers to hold them and the tiny two-pronged forks to remove the snails from their shells, but the fact is 6 or 12 snails will not do it for me and the whole ritual makes no sense for me at home alone. So I always serve them in a bowl with lots of the traditional toasted bread on the side.>Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !>>Click here for more Escargots on ChefsOpinion>>>

>>The texture of beef neck is absolutely stunning. I wish I’d be able to buy just a slab of the meat, without the bones. That would make the perfect goulash or braised roast. In the meantime, I’ll just have to make do with the neck bones and the meat on them. They are of course the same wonderful texture and flavor as a large boneless slab would be, but naturally, the presentation suffers a bit. 😦>Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !>>Click here for more Beef Neck on ChefsOpinion>>P.S.
These bread dumplings are a typical example of the fact that most savory recipe measurements are at best guidelines. In this case, there are too many possible variables for the ingredients to use ANY measurements. Rather, the measurements are loose guidelines. For dumplings especially, experience is the key to a successful dumpling. As I mentioned in previous posts, most young (or old) cooks and chefs have never perfected the art/craft of proper dumplings for that particular reasons – one needs experience and “feeling” to get the ratios of the ingredients just right. Dumplings of any type (fish, meat, liver, potato, bread, lobster and so forth must be very light without falling apart while cooking. By just following measurements, because of the many and large variables, this is impossible to achieve. One needs practice, practice and practice – THEN one needs feeling, feeling and feeling. I believe the reason why we hardly see dumplings on menus anymore is the same as the reason why most cooks embraced the idiotic habit of eating fish, pork vegetables and other food items “seared on the outside, raw on the inside”, – any moron can achieve that without any skills, knowledge or experience 😦
Anyway, don’t be discouraged if by the first try you don’t succeed, – just put in lots of practice, lots of love and lots of feeling, and soon you too will be able to enjoy homemade dumplings (and properly cooked protein) as often as you crave it 🙂

>>Chinese dumplings in soup – there must be a thousand and one variations. Different stuffings, different shapes, different wrappers to enclose the dumplings, dumplings without wrappers (spherical), different broths/soups, thick soups, clear soups, different vegetables to include in the soups, etc, etc, etc.
Then there are all the other Asian countries who have their own traditional versions of all of the above. So, basically, there is probably a MILLION and one recipes out there, one better than the other. 🙂
I have prepared many different ones myself over the decades, both while working in Asia and learning from the locals, as well as creating my own versions of some of the ones I learned to prepare over the years.
The point is, there are too many Asian dumpling soups to mention, but here I give you the most basic, delicious and quick version there is. Once you master this, you will be able to build on that knowledge and practice, preparing your own versions with the ingredients which are the most easy to obtain, the most affordable and the most delicious for your own preferred taste and texture. For this basic recipe, I suggest that you use store-bought wanton wrappers, ground pork and tamarind broth. Then, next time, move on to shrimp, lobster, scallops, chicken or whatever protein you prefer, then use any vegetables or mushrooms you have at hand, any broth/soup such as chicken, beef, fish, sour, spicy, with or without egg, thickened or clear, with or without garlic, with or without ginger, sesame oil, chili oil, fresh lime, calamansi, or – WHATEVER !
Just try to make the whole soup a harmonious combination of flavors and textures. 🙂>Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !>>Click here for CHINESE NEW YEAR EGG DUMPLING SOUP ( 蛋饺 ) ( DAN JIAO ) on ChefsOpinion(Click here to read about : The Year of the Pig begins on Tuesday February 5, 2019)

>>Cod –
(Kabeljau / Dorsch / タラ Tara / Morue / Bacalao / smk alqadi / Treska / Turska / Γάδος Gádos / Kele / Torsk / треска, etc, etc. 🙂.
Until a few short years ago, cod (kabeljau), and especially cod in mustard sauce was a very popular dish in Europe. It was very cheap, tasted great, looked good and was widely available.
It could be found at least once a month on Fridays in private homes, in restaurants on “Daily Specials”, as a choice in school- and factory cafeterias and everywhere else where people did not eat meat on a Friday because of religious reasons, or simply because they loved the dish and welcomed it as a change from the usual daily meat or vegetable offerings.
I would love to eat cod at least 3 times a week, breaded, poached, sautéed, grilled, in tacos or sandwiches, plain or with sauce or condiments, and so forth. However, the exuberant pricing of at least $ 10 a pound prevents me from enjoying cod more often. 😦
But once in a while I spoil myself and Bella and go all out, no matter the cost. 🙂

>>One of the greatest mysteries in our Universe is without doubt the fact that pork belly is not the most popular food there is !
In my opinion, it should be treasured and respected with the likes of caviar, foie gras and lobster. 🙂
It certainly is a delicacy if prepared by a Chinese master chef and transformed into a pyramid, or if just simply roasted or simmered, with lots of spices or just sea salt and pepper, in chinese buns, in a kaiser roll or as Szechuan-style or Shanghai-style braised pork belly ( hong shao rou, 红烧肉 ) or any of the never-ending list of pork belly recipes from around the world.
While I have cooked many of these pork belly dishes, nothing is more satisfying than the dish featured here – it tastes like a million bucks, yet takes less than 5 minutes of actual prepping time (plus a few minutes for the asparagus). It’s like playing the Lotto for a dollar and winning the jackpot 🙂>>

>It’s no wonder people eat more and more sh***y fast food.
This 2 lbs of cod fillet was $ 20.00 incl tax !!! 😦
Ground beef $ 7.00 a pound, chicken wings $ 5.00 and up, a small loaf of bread $ 4.00 and up, etc, etc 😦
Yet, a small crappy cheeseburger with fries and a coke is $3.00 ! What a shame.
I spend about $ 200.00 per week just on groceries and paper goods for Bella and myself, no laundry or cleaning cost for my cleaning lady included. How do families with a few kids and regular income do it ??? Everybody works, money and time is tight, so fast food is the only answer. Most young people do not have home-economy classes in school anymore, so it eludes them how to prepare a good, tasty, healthy, and economic meal for lets say $ 2.00 per person from scratch, or mostly from scratch with some canned protein or “secondary meat cuts” added. For a professional chef this should not be a problem, but for an inexperienced young couple with kids, who were never taught how to economize, save, calculate and be frugal, this will be nearly impossible. Financial disaster, poor nutrition, and a never ending circle of misery is the inevitable result.
Teaching home economics in school, affordable supplies of nutritious food at acceptable prices and less waste because of idiotic standardisation of size and appearance, mostly by supermarkets, as well as the stupid expectation by consumers that all food should be standardized, is highly required and necessary if we don’t want to be living in a world were only the rich can afford to buy nutritious food and drink.>
Ok now, done with the rant and back to today’s dish, which was delicious, beautiful and healthy (and Expensive). 🙂
As you can see in the pictures, there was a lot of EVO and whole butter, (I used a spoon to eat the beans) but as long as you don’t consume this much every day, you’ll be fine,
Also, if you don’t think it’s good for you, just use less ! 🙂>>Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !>>Click here for more Fillet on ChefsOpinion>Click here for more Fish on ChefsOpinion>>>.

cut a 2 lb cod fillet into two portions (I removed the belly-flap for Bella)

season the fish with kosher salt, sriracha and fresh lime juice to taste, dredge in corn starch

saute in EVO until fish is at 160F internal temperature, remove and keep warm (The carry-over heat will cook the fish to a perfectly safe and perfectly JUICY 164 F) (see the pic of the inside of the fish above- VERY juice and flaky) !

discard the remaining oil from the pan, add 4 oz of whole butter

ready -go !

plate half the bean salad

add the fish

top the fish with slices of lime or lemon, top with coarsely chopped italian parsley

when the butter starts to brown, pour over the garnish of the fish – serve at once

>>Usually, I have a variation of breaded or grilled chicken sandwich at least once a week, always accompanied by some easily prepared salad. As for the chili relish and hummus, I usually make them fresh at home, but I also sometimes use store-bought items. Nowadays, many grocery stores have such great quality conserves that it does not always make sense to prepare them oneself, not so much because of the work involved but because of the limited space in the fridge. Since I have prepared all this stuff a thousand times from scratch, I sure know how to do it and don’t have to be embarrassed to admit to store-bought items, at least once in a while 🙂>Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !

Whythis Mediterranean Seafood Stew may be the best seafood stew on Earth ……… 🙂

Quite obviously, this Seafood Stew bears a close family resemblance to France’s Bouillabaisse and Spain’s Zarzuela de Mariscos, both of which are known all over the Globe and are considered by many in the know as the best of the best.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise at all.
The Catalan coast of Spain, where the Zarzuela de Mariscos calls home, borders the Mediterranean coast of France. (Barcelona is a mere 500 km from Marseilles). Both Spain’s Zarzuela de Mariscos, as well as France’s/Marseille’s Bouillabaisse are profiting from an abundance of seafood treasures available in and around the Mediterranean coast of this area.
They’re practically neighbors, and they’ve been making fisherman’s stews out of fish and other seafood that comes from the same sea for hundredths, if not thousands, of years. (The fish-only version is called Zarzuela de Pescado ). They both have their own rules, ingredients and accompaniments, most notably the ground almonds in the Zarzuela of Spain and the baguette with rouille with the Bouillabaisse of France. However, todays stew has added white beans and potatoes, which turn this fish stew into a full, satisfying meal which leaves nothing to be desired.
The Best seafood stew on Earth ? – maybe sometimes, depending what you crave in that particular moment.ONE of the three Best Seafood Stews on Earth ? – ab-so-lutely 🙂.

Beef Ribs Braised With Blueberries And Merlot, Served With Mafaldine & Pangrattato

>>Blueberries in a beef-braise?
If I didn’t know better, I would probably have rejected that idea too.
But of course, I’ve cooked a similar dish before, so I am familiar with it. The reason blueberries are being used in a beef sauce is that when you need a good amount of sauce with great color and great flavor, but you have only a small amount of beef, you are in a hurry and you have no proper stock at hand and not enough root vegetables – if all that comes together, you need some kind of a solution to give debt of flavor and color to the dish.
Well, here is the solution to the problem – blueberries will do the trick 🙂
This sauce tastes different from your typical beef sauce, very rich – almost like game sauce, but the flavor is absolutely unique, lovely and delicious 🙂>Bon Appétit ! Life is Good>>Click here for more Beef Ribs on ChefsOpinion>Click here for more Blueberries on ChefsOpinion>>>

Beef Ribs Braised With Blueberries And Merlot, Served With Mafaldine & Pangrattato

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Beef Ribs Braised With Blueberries And Merlot, Served With Mafaldine & Pangrattato

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Beef Ribs Braised With Blueberries And Merlot, Served With Mafaldine & Pangrattato

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Beef Ribs Braised With Blueberries And Merlot, Served With Mafaldine & Pangrattato

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Beef Ribs Braised With Blueberries And Merlot, Served With Mafaldine & Pangrattato

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Beef Ribs Braised With Blueberries And Merlot, Served With Mafaldine & Pangrattato

>>Before I went to get some last-minute shopping done this morning, I contemplated my probable food-intake for the next two days. It downed on me that if I don’t want to gain at least 10 lbs over the holidays, I must offset the gluttony with sensible breakfasts and luncheons, so I started today with this simple and light salad;.“Romaine Lettuce With Shrimp, Mussels, Crab Claws, And Fruits, Dressed In Avocado Salsa”>>P.S.
For seafood salads, I always like to “refresh” refrigerated seafood in a mixture of room temperature-water, lemon juice, garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper. (Keep in liquid for ten minutes)
For all hot dishes, I like to “refresh” refrigerated seafood in a mixture of room temperature-whole butter, lemon juice, garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper. (Keep in butter for ten minutes)>Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !>>
Mix romaine lettuce, cucumbers and rainbow grape tomatoes with a simple honey/mustard vinaigrette, plate on serving platter.
Top with pomegranate seeds, blueberries and mango, refresh seafood according to instruction on this page.
Top with seafood.
Drizzle with avocado dressing/salsa.
Serves – well, that depends entirely on you. 🙂 (This one was just the perfect sized meal for Bella and me)>Avocado Salsa/Dressing Recipe:
In a food processor, blend 1 cup honey/mustard vinaigrette and juice from 1 lime with meat from 1 to 2 ea Hass(Haas) Avocado (depending on size) until smooth, stir-in 1 tblsp finely chopped cilantro.>>Click here for more Salad on ChefsOpinion>Click here for more Seafood on ChefsOpinion>>>